Asia and Pacific

In early May 2016, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines made a major announcement. The three countries, which often have trouble cooperating on transnational challenges, and have long disputed ownership of some of their adjacent waters, said they would begin coordinated patrols at sea and install a threeway hotline to discuss kidnappings and other militant activities.

U.S. officials should accommodate a larger role for emerging countries, particularly China, in the multilateral development bank system, but from a position of strength and with ambition for MDBs in U.S. policy.

Adjunct Senior Fellow Stephen Biddle and his co-author, Ivan Oelrich, argue in the latest issue of the journal International Security that Chinese antiaccess/area denial is a real, but limited long term threat. It can allow China to gain control of its own airspace, it can deny the U.S. wartime freedom of movement across much of the South and East China Seas, and U.S. counter-efforts are unlikely to prevent this in the 2040 time frame on which we focus.

Jerome A. Cohen discusses the verdict in the Philippines’ case against China in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In this op-ed, Cohen writes about the importance of the decision both in drawing greater attention to the role of arbitration in international relations and in ruling that none of the Spratlys are entitled to an exclusive economic zone.

As the U.S. presidential election approaches, American allies are becoming increasingly nervous about Trump. Like other allies, South Koreans want to know whether Trump will win and, if he does, will he make good his threats?

On Tuesday, the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration issued its final ruling in a landmark case between the Philippines and China over disputed maritime claims in the South China Sea. The object of intense global interest, the three-year-old case has come to serve as a bellwether for the kind of rising power China intends to be.

The United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration delivered its final ruling Tuesday in a case between the Philippines and China over disputed maritime claims in the South China Sea. Closely watched around the world, the three-year-old landmark case was seen as a litmus test of China’s intentions as a rising power.

U.S. diplomats and policymakers need to think creatively about how best to harness the United States’ inherent advantages in South and Central Asia and thereby offset China’s overwhelming financial investments and diplomatic initiatives.

In this article, Cohen discusses why China is legally bound by the UNCLOS arbitration tribunal’s ruling on the Philippines’ case against China on the South China Sea and the potential for the Philippines and China to renew bilateral negotiations in the ruling’s wake.

2015 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2015 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »